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Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c.

It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC. The city, acting as a major center for the empire, housed a palace complex and citadel designed to serve as the focal point for governance and ceremonial activities. The complex was taken by the army of Alexander the Great in 330 BC, and soon after, its wooden parts were completely destroyed by fire. According to one theory, Alexander deliberately set fire to Persepolis to avenge the destruction of Athens by the Persians; a second theory is that it was at the urging of Thaïs, a courtesan, during a feast when Alexander was intoxicated. It was not one of the largest cities in ancient Iran, let alone the rest of the empire, but appears to have been a grand ceremonial complex that was only occupied seasonally; the complex was raised high on a walled platform, with five "palaces" or halls of varying size, and grand entrances. Until recently, most archaeologists held that it was primarily used for celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, held at the spring equinox, which is still an important annual festivity in Iran. The Iranian nobility and the tributary parts of the empire came to present gifts to the king, as represented in the stairway reliefs. It is also unclear what permanent structures there were outside the palace complex; due to these factors, Persepolis is more often referred to as a complex rather than a "city" in the usual sense. The exploration of Persepolis from the early 17th century led to the modern rediscovery of cuneiform writing and, from detailed studies of the trilingual Achaemenid royal inscriptions found on the ruins, the initial decipherment of cuneiform in the early 19th century.

Persepolis is derived from the Greek Περσέπολις, Persepolis, a compound of Pérsēs (Πέρσης) and pólis (πόλις, together meaning "the Persian city" or "the city of the Persians").

André Godard, the French archaeologist who excavated Persepolis in the early 1930s, believed that it was Cyrus the Great who chose the site of Persepolis, but that it was Darius I who built the terrace and the palaces. Darius I's construction of Persepolis was carried out parallel to that of the Palace of Susa.

It is believed that the fire which destroyed Persepolis started from Hadish Palace, which was the living quarters of Xerxes I, and spread to the rest of the city. He adds: " burned the whole of Persepolis as revenge to the Persians, because it seems the Persian King Xerxes had burnt the Greek City of Athens around 150 years ago.

Noted structures include the Great Stairway, the Gate of All Nations, the Apadana, the Hall of a Hundred Columns, the Tripylon Hall and the Tachara, the Hadish Palace, the Palace of Artaxerxes III, the Imperial Treasury, the Royal Stables, and the Chariot House.

Based on these discontinuities with the rest of the Persepolis area, excavators concluded the gate likely predates the construction of Persepolis under Darius I, and was probably built sometime between the conquest of Babylon in 539 and the start of construction at Persepolis in 518 BCE.

Tachara, was the exclusive palace of Darius the Great at Persepolis. This palace was one of the few structures that escaped destruction in the burning of the complex by Alexander's army, and because of that, Tachara is the most intact building of Persepolis today.

The Hadish Palace of Xerxes is one of palaces at Persepolis.

There are a total of 11 existing inscriptions at Persepolis, related to Darius the Great, Xerxes, Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III. Persepolis was the capital of the Persian kingdom.

Persepolis: The Magnificent Ancient Capital of the Persian Achaemenid Empire at Amazing Iran Media

Quick Facts

• Persepolis is derived from the Greek Περσέπολις, Persepolis, a compound of Pérsēs (Πέρσης) and pólis (πόλις, together meaning "the Persian city" or "the city of the Persians").
• According to one theory, Alexander deliberately set fire to Persepolis to avenge the destruction of Athens by the Persians; a second theory is that it was at the urging of Thaïs, a courtesan, during a feast when Alexander was intoxicated.
• It is also unclear what permanent structures there were outside the palace complex; due to these factors, Persepolis is more often referred to as a complex rather than a "city" in the usual sense.
• The exploration of Persepolis from the early 17th century led to the modern rediscovery of cuneiform writing and, from detailed studies of the trilingual Achaemenid royal inscriptions found on the ruins, the initial decipherment of cuneiform in the early 19th century.
• André Godard, the French archaeologist who excavated Persepolis in the early 1930s, believed that it was Cyrus the Great who chose the site of Persepolis, but that it was Darius I who built the terrace and the palaces.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Persepolis". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.